No more optical from Philips

This is a really amazing news. Philips will transfers ownership of optical pick-up unit to Arima devices. So no more Philips optical in future DVD or Blu-ray. No financial details were disclosed.

Philips will take an approximate 14% share in Arima Devices at the completion of the deal. The OPU business unit produces optical pick up units for DVD recorders and PC DVD drives and is part of Philips Optical Storage.

Arima Devices will benefit from acquired Philips’ technology and expertise in DVD recording and Blu-ray Disc, which includes all patents generated by the OPU business unit.

The OPU business unit employs approximately 740 people in Asia and 40 people in Europe. These employees will be transferred to Arima Devices upon completion of the deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2006.